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Science 2 October 1964:
Vol. 146. no. 3640, pp. 65 - 67
DOI: 10.1126/science.146.3640.65
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Articles

Sensitivity of Visual Receptors of Carotenoid-Depleted Flies: A Vitamin A Deficiency in an Invertebrate

Timothy H. Goldsmith 1, Roy J. Barker 2, and Charles F. Cohen 2

1 Department of Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
2 Entomology Research Division, Agriculture Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland

House flies (Musca domestica) raised under sterile conditions on a diet lacking carotenoids and retinol (vitamin A) have visual receptor sensitivities —as assessed electroretinographically—which average more than 2 log units below normal, both in the near ultraviolet (340 mµ) and visible (500 mµ) regions of the spectrum. Loss of sensitivity can be prevented by the addition of beta-carotene to the larval food. Flies reared for several generations on a carotenoid-free diet, but under conditions where the adults are not kept sterile, do not show a further loss of sensitivity. It is suggested that carotenoid stored in the egg prevents complete blindness in the first generation, and that microorganisms can supply small amounts of carotenoid and thereby prevent complete blindness in the second and successive generations.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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Photosensitivity of the Circadian Rhythm and of Visual Receptors in Carotenoid-Depleted Drosophila.
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)